'Royal Mail is worth fighting for, or in 10 years the service will not exist'

For all the hype about threats of violence, it was peaceful outside the Mount Pleasant sorting office in north London this morning. There was no chanting, no hint of aggression and no police, just a few dozen people explaining why they were there.

Forty-five-year-old Derrick Francis, who has worked for Royal Mail for 20 years, had recently gone on strike for 15 days, losing more than £1,000 in earnings. "Striking is not a decision we take lightly," he said. "But some things are worth fighting for. If we do nothing then in 10 years Royal Mail as we know it will cease to exist. What Royal Mail are trying to do now will not only destroy our working conditions but the service itself."

Like all the workers on the picket line he insisted the strikers were not against change. "In 2007 we had an agreement that things would change but that Royal Mail staff would be consulted on that change – and they have torn it up."

Mark Baulch, a postman since 1983, and on the national executive of the Communication Workers Union, said: "Royal Mail are trying to portray us as dinosaurs when, in reality, the modernisation they are proposing means customers will be getting later deliveries and effectively worsening the service. The scale of the change that is being proposed is huge, and we want the right to be involved in that change."

He accused the management of "terrorising" workers. "Management are forcing their will … increasing workloads to an impossible level then punishing people for not being able to do it."

Workers were not only worried about losing their jobs and working conditions but were deeply concerned about pensions, said Steve Jones, a Royal Mail engineer, also a member of the CWU national executive, who joined the service 34 years ago as a 16-year-old.

He said Royal Mail was facing a deficit of up to £10bn and that he, personally, had lost £30,000 off the value of his pension. "People have dedicated a lot of their lives to Royal Mail and they are scared. To tell someone who has done 20, 30, 40 years to just go and get another job is a bit rich."

Merlin Reader, a full-time CWU union rep, said that today was the 15th time he had been on strike in recent months, costing him over £1,000. "This is a key battle. We're at the vanguard of an attack … on public services. The bankers' bonuses are back, there is money back in the city, and working people are having to pay for it. We have to win otherwise it would be a disaster, not just for us but for anyone who works for the public sector and believes in service before profit in this country."